Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 146[a]
146 Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord, O my soul.
2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live.
I will sing praises to my God as long as I exist.
3 Do not trust in princes,
or in human beings, who cannot deliver.[b]
4 Their life’s breath departs, they return to the ground.
On that day their plans die.[c]
5 How blessed is the one whose helper is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
6 the one who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
who remains forever faithful,[d]
7 vindicates the oppressed,[e]
and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord releases the imprisoned.
8 The Lord gives sight to the blind.
The Lord lifts up all who are bent over.[f]
The Lord loves the godly.
9 The Lord protects the resident foreigner.
He lifts up the fatherless and the widow,[g]
but he opposes the wicked.[h]
10 The Lord rules forever,
your God, O Zion, throughout the generations to come.[i]
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 147[j]
147 Praise the Lord,
for it is good to sing praises to our God.
Yes,[k] praise is pleasant and appropriate.
2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem,
and gathers the exiles of Israel.
3 He heals[l] the brokenhearted,
and bandages their wounds.
4 He counts the number of the stars;
he names all of them.
5 Our Lord is great and has awesome power;[m]
there is no limit to his wisdom.[n]
6 The Lord lifts up the oppressed,
but knocks[o] the wicked to the ground.
7 Offer to the Lord a song of thanks.[p]
Sing praises to our God to the accompaniment of a harp.
8 He covers[q] the sky with clouds,
provides the earth with rain,
and causes grass to grow on the hillsides.[r]
9 He gives food to the animals,
and to the young ravens when they chirp.[s]
10 He is not enamored with the strength of a horse,
nor is he impressed by the warrior’s strong legs.[t]
11 The Lord takes delight in his faithful followers,[u]
and in those who wait for his loyal love.
12 Extol the Lord, O Jerusalem.
Praise your God, O Zion.
13 For he makes the bars of your gates strong.
He blesses your children[v] within you.
14 He[w] brings peace to your territory.[x]
He abundantly provides for you[y] the best grain.
15 He[z] sends his command through the earth;[aa]
swiftly his order reaches its destination.[ab]
16 He sends the snow that is white like wool;
he spreads the frost that is white like ashes.[ac]
17 He throws his hailstones[ad] like crumbs.
Who can withstand the cold wind he sends?[ae]
18 He then orders it all to melt;[af]
he breathes on it,[ag] and the water flows.
19 He proclaims his word to Jacob,
his statutes and regulations to Israel.
20 He has not done so with any other nation;
they are not aware of his regulations.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 111[a]
111 Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
in the assembly of the godly and the congregation.
2 The Lord’s deeds are great,
eagerly awaited[b] by all who desire them.
3 His work is majestic and glorious,[c]
and his faithfulness endures[d] forever.
4 He does[e] amazing things that will be remembered;[f]
the Lord is merciful and compassionate.
5 He gives[g] food to his faithful followers;[h]
he always remembers his covenant.[i]
6 He announced that he would do mighty deeds for his people,
giving them a land that belonged to other nations.[j]
7 His acts are characterized by[k] faithfulness and justice;
all his precepts are reliable.[l]
8 They are forever firm,
and should be faithfully and properly carried out.[m]
9 He delivered his people;[n]
he ordained that his covenant be observed forever.[o]
His name is holy and awesome.
10 To obey the Lord is the fundamental principle for wise living;[p]
all who carry out his precepts acquire good moral insight.[q]
He will receive praise forever.[r]
Psalm 112[s]
112 Praise the Lord!
How blessed is the one[t] who obeys[u] the Lord,
who takes great delight in keeping his commands.[v]
2 His descendants[w] will be powerful on the earth;
the godly[x] will be blessed.
3 His house contains wealth and riches;
his integrity endures.[y]
4 In the darkness a light[z] shines for the godly,
for each one who is merciful, compassionate, and just.[aa]
5 It goes well for the one[ab] who generously lends money,
and conducts his business honestly.[ac]
6 For he will never be shaken;
others will always remember one who is just.[ad]
7 He does not fear bad news.
He[ae] is confident; he trusts in the Lord.
8 His resolve[af] is firm; he will not succumb to fear
before he looks in triumph on his enemies.
9 He generously gives[ag] to the needy;
his integrity endures.[ah]
He will be vindicated and honored.[ai]
10 When the wicked[aj] see this, they will worry;
they will grind their teeth in frustration[ak] and melt away.
The desire of the wicked will perish.[al]
Psalm 113[am]
113 Praise the Lord.
Praise, you servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord.
2 May the Lord’s name be praised
now and forevermore.
3 From east to west[an]
the Lord’s name is deserving of praise.
4 The Lord is exalted over all the nations;
his splendor reaches beyond the sky.[ao]
5 Who can compare to the Lord our God,
who sits on a high throne?[ap]
6 He bends down to look[aq]
at the sky and the earth.
7 He raises the poor from the dirt,
and lifts up the needy from the garbage pile,[ar]
8 that he might seat him with princes,
with the princes of his people.
9 He makes the barren woman of the family[as]
a happy mother of children.[at]
Praise the Lord.
The Creation of the World
1 In the beginning[a] God[b] created[c] the heavens and the earth.[d]
2 Now[e] the earth[f] was without shape and empty,[g] and darkness[h] was over the surface of the watery deep,[i] but the Spirit of God[j] was moving[k] over the surface[l] of the water.[m] 3 God said,[n] “Let there be[o] light.”[p] And there was light! 4 God saw[q] that the light was good,[r] so God separated[s] the light from the darkness. 5 God called[t] the light “day” and the darkness[u] “night.” There was evening, and there was morning, marking the first day.[v]
6 God said, “Let there be an expanse[w] in the midst of the waters and let it separate water[x] from water.” 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it.[y] It was so.[z] 8 God called the expanse “sky.”[aa] There was evening, and there was morning, a second day.
9 God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place[ab] and let dry ground appear.”[ac] It was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land”[ad] and the gathered waters he called “seas.” God saw that it was good.
11 God said, “Let the land produce vegetation:[ae] plants yielding seeds and[af] trees on the land bearing fruit with seed in it, according to their kinds.”[ag] It was so. 12 The land produced vegetation—plants yielding seeds according to their kinds, and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. God saw that it was good. 13 There was evening, and there was morning, a third day.
14 God said, “Let there be lights[ah] in the expanse[ai] of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them be signs[aj] to indicate seasons and days and years, 15 and let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” It was so. 16 God made two great lights[ak]—the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night. He made the stars also.[al] 17 God placed the lights[am] in the expanse of the sky to shine on the earth, 18 to preside over the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness.[an] God saw that it was good. 19 There was evening, and there was morning, a fourth day.
20 God said, “Let the water swarm with swarms[ao] of living creatures and let birds fly[ap] above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” 21 God created the great sea creatures[aq] and every living and moving thing with which the water swarmed, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them[ar] and said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.”[as] 23 There was evening, and there was morning, a fifth day.
24 God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: cattle, creeping things, and wild animals, each according to its kind.”[at] It was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the cattle according to their kinds, and all the creatures that creep along the ground according to their kinds. God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make[au] humankind[av] in our image, after our likeness,[aw] so they may rule[ax] over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth,[ay] and over all the creatures that move[az] on the earth.”
27 God created humankind[ba] in his own image,
in the image of God he created them,[bb]
male and female he created them.[bc]
28 God blessed[bd] them and said[be] to them, “Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it![bf] Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the ground.”[bg] 29 Then God said, “I now[bh] give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the entire earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.[bi] 30 And to all the animals of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has living breath[bj] in it—I give[bk] every green plant for food.” It was so.
31 God saw all that he had made—and it was very good![bl] There was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day.
2 The heavens and the earth[bm] were completed with everything that was in them.[bn] 2 By[bo] the seventh day God finished the work that he had been doing,[bp] and he ceased[bq] on the seventh day all the work that he had been doing. 3 God blessed the seventh day and made it holy[br] because on it he ceased all the work that he[bs] had been doing in creation.[bt]
Spiritual Blessings in Christ
3 Blessed[a] is[b] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed[c] us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ. 4 For[d] he chose us in Christ[e] before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless[f] before him[g] in love.[h] 5 He did this by predestining[i] us to adoption as his[j] legal heirs[k] through Jesus Christ, according to the pleasure[l] of his will— 6 to the praise of the glory of his grace[m] that he has freely bestowed on us in his dearly loved Son.[n] 7 In him[o] we have redemption through his blood,[p] the forgiveness of our offenses,[q] according to the riches of his grace 8 that he lavished on us in all wisdom and insight. 9 He did this when he revealed[r] to us the mystery[s] of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth[t] in Christ,[u] 10 toward the administration of the fullness of the times, to head up[v] all things in Christ—the things in heaven[w] and the things on earth.[x] 11 In Christ[y] we too have been claimed as God’s own possession,[z] since we were predestined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will 12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope[aa] on Christ,[ab] would be to the praise of his glory. 13 And when[ac] you heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation)—when you believed in Christ[ad]—you were marked with the seal[ae] of the promised Holy Spirit,[af] 14 who is the down payment[ag] of our inheritance, until the redemption of God’s own possession,[ah] to the praise of his glory.
29 On the next day John[a] saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God[b] who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one about whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who is greater than I am,[c] because he existed before me.’ 31 I did not recognize[d] him, but I came baptizing with water so that he could be revealed to Israel.”[e]
32 Then[f] John testified,[g] “I saw the Spirit descending like a dove[h] from heaven,[i] and it remained on him.[j] 33 And I did not recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining—this is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have both seen and testified that this man is the Chosen One of God.”[k]
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